Dajah - A Life of Song

YASHIN ELLIS
June 06, 2018

Dajah - A Life of Song

As a child, Cristine Young was very keen to listen to her surroundings, and she was a fast learner. She was a troublesome child with behavioral problems that took her caregivers some time to figure out. Her earlier life was rocky, much like the breaking waves, she crashed between the Dorothy Menzies home and a foster mother then back to another children’s home, where she lived until she was 18. That lack of stability meant when it was time to leave she had few possessions.Young remembers “When I was 11 I had difficulty paying attention in class and I was also a hyperactive child. I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and I was on medication for six years. Medical consultation was mandatory but the last time I checked-in, my doctor said that there was no need for me to take medication anymore and I've outgrown that. I don't really like to talk about this because people misinterpret it. I feel comfortable with revealing that part of my life now because it’s my past and nobody is born perfect in this world.”What she kept, what she travelled with was the memories of her childhood. There was one that was unforgettable, the voice of her mother. “I think the most challenging experience has to do with when I lost my mom. I was 15 when she died.”Her mother used to sing and the notes were transcribed to her soul. It’s been a while since her mother sang Toni Braxton’s ‘Unbreak My Heart’ and ‘Breathe Again’ but the songs in her troubled heart would join her as a travel companion on her journey like the blues to a jazz musician.At the age of 11, she moved to Punta Gorda where she would sing for the multicultural congregation of Mayas, East Indian, Creole and Garifuna at the Jesuit’s St. Peter Claver Parish Church. For 9 years Young was guided by Celia Martinez until 2009 when Martinez passed away. Young then joined a worship team at the Faith Outreach Center. With song and faith caressing her life and newly found confidence, she moved back to Belize City in 2015 at age 18. Now living with an aunt, she needed more than a traditional hymn book and she began to write lyrics. The music she now soaked was urban, Caribbean and Jamaican. With the talent she honed from hearing her mother to the time of the church choir, she moved onto writing dancehall and started to look for opportunities for her young life.One artist who had great influence was Adidja Palmer and she says “because I could relate to the things he sang about poverty.” Adidja Palmer is better known as Vybz Kartel. She may have born on May 26t h , 1996 but when she wrote her songs, she became Dajah Glamor, an homage to the influence of Adidja. Some of her songs she penned includes: Never let go; Dream Big; Cant Cool You Down; Good Good; Whole Night featuring TY; and Me noh want your man. Other musical influences includes Nicki Minaj, Rhianna, Toni Braxton, Celine Dion and Lady Saw.Recently she was nominated for Best new Artist & best Female Artist for the Krem Awards. Dajah's journey, though music builds her character and her spirit. It is a life of song.
Links to music below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q1b58VSjB4&feature=youtu.behttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kUuZ_MrF6g&feature=youtu.behttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oxYxuqC1Y4&feature=youtu.be